January 29th is National Puzzle Day! Celebrate by exercising your brain with our office supply crossword puzzle and see how well you know your office supply trivia!Whether it’s a crossword, jigsaw, trivia, word searches, brain teasers or Soduku, puzzles put our minds to work.Studies have found that when we work on a jigsaw puzzle, we use both sides of the brain, and spending time daily working on puzzles improves memory, cognitive function and problem-solving skills.Word searches and crossword puzzles have the obvious benefit of increasing vocabulary and language skills.Sudoku, a puzzle sequencing a set of numbers on a grid, exercises the brain as well. By testing memory and logical thinking, this puzzle stimulates the brain and can improve number skills.The bottom line is, puzzles stimulate the brain, keeping it active and practicing its skills.

National Paperclip Day is observed each year on May 29. Yes, even the paperclip has it’s own day of honor. It is about that well-known piece of curved wire that keeps our papers together and organized.

Fastening papers together is believed to have started back in the 13th century when short pieces of ribbon were placed through parallel cuts in the upper left hand corner of pages. The Gem paper clip, which was most likely in production in Britain in the early 1870′s by “The Gem Manufacturing Company” , was never patented. It is the most common type of wire paper clip and is still in use today. It was introduced to the United States around 1892 and in 1904, Cushman & Denison registered a trademark for the “Gem” name in connection with paper clips. Paperclips are still sometimes called “Gem clips”.Today, paperclips come in various sizes, shapes and colors and can make your paperwork look more fun and lively.

So, today is the day to appreciate those little pieces of wire, so celebrate by using paper clips as much as possible, and not just for keeping your papers together. There are many other uses for paper clips such as the following:§ Hair Barrette§ Zipper Pull Replacement§ Book Marker§ Cherry Pit Remover§ Unclogging Glue Bottles§ Christmas Tree Ornament Hooks

A certain big event is happening in Brazil that we cannot actually mention due to sponsorship/trademark rules. However, if you happen to know what we are talking about (and EVERYONE in the world should know about it), then we thought you might want to create your own office fun to get into the spirit. The American spirit. The American spirit of competition and winning. ​

Winners on Office Space

​Here are some fun office games that you can play. But first, make sure everyone picks a country and dresses up; dressing up is half the fun!

Finger SkatingFinger Skating is an individual event. Two athletes from each team will compete in a sixty-second typing competition. To do this, find a free timed typing website (like this). Of course using a projector attached to each computer, make sure everyone can watch them type to put the pressure on them! Each competitor has one minute to earn a typing score for both their speed and accuracy. Once all the teams are finished competing, rank them based on their scores.

Rubber Band Archery Archery is an individual event with two players from each team competing. Provide a pile of rubber bands and draw a target on a whiteboard (or tap a target to the wall). Mark a line on the floor about 12 feet away from the target. Competitors have 60 seconds to grab rubber bands from the pile and shoot them at the target, one at a time. Count the number of times the athlete hits the target. The total number of hits becomes the team’s score for the event. Or, if you want to get fancy, you can have different point for each area of the target.​​

CollatingCollating is a doubles event. Each team is presented with a stack of unfolded numbered pages that have been mixed up. They must rearrange the pages in proper order and staple it. First team wins, with disqualification if pages are out of order. Penalties given for a sloppy job.

Desk Chair SprintFor this event, create a race course with chalk or tape. Have a section in which they must spin the chair multiple times and use cones (or boxes) throughout the course as obstacles. You will need one office chair with wheels that swivel. The Desk Chair Sprint is a two person event. One teammate sits in the chair while the other maneuvers the course; then they switch. They each need to complete one lap around the race course, and they are timed for the two laps. For every cone hit by the chair wheel, there will be 2 seconds added to the time.

If you want to raise the stakes, give participants a mug of water in their hand. Team with the most water in their cup at the end gets 5 seconds taken off their time.

The Staple PullParticipants are given a staple remover and a piece of card stock with 25 embedded staples. Points are awarded to the participant who pulls out the most staples without damaging the card stock

Paper Airplane “Javelin”Each participant must make a paper airplane. They then have to “javelin” throw it. Furthest airplane wins.

AwardsWhat would an office event like this be without awards? Everyone can be proud of their effort, but there will always be winners and losers.

Office Awards at Chicago Zine

​What other office events have you played? Share in the comments. Bonus points if you share a link to a video of your office competing!

learn the basic differences between tapes and get ideas for using tape in unique ways to solve everyday problems

Tape 101 What's the Difference?Doing a job right means starting out with the proper tools. Each one of Scotch Brand Tapes is designed to address a particular range of applications. Don't let the wrong tape keep your project from turning out perfect.

Clear Tapes: are general purpose tapes great for crafting, mending and light mounting. They're easy to cut and peel off the roll smoothly.

Decorative Tape: is the perfect way to personalize any project. It comes in over 200 colors and patterns in 9 tape types so you can use it for any project.

Moving and Storage Tape: is created to maintain strength over time, ideal for packages that are going to stay put for a while.

Get Organized with Washi Tape

With so many colors and patterns to choose from, washi tape makes it easy to distinguish between items at a glance. You can use it to differentiate electrical cords, keep glasses separate at a party, keep a calendar in order or label containers. To take your organizing to the next level you can even write on it in pen or pencil.

Fix a Frayed Shoelace

If you need to replace an aglet, the plastic or metallic tube at the end of your shoelace, look no further than Scotch MultiTask Tape. Simply wrap the tape around the frayed part to form a replacement cylinder. You can also use washi or decorative duct tape to personalize your shoelaces and add a pop of color.

Clean Your Keyboard

There is no need for compressed air to clean your keyboard, simply slide a strip of Scotch Magic Tape through the rows of keys to pick up dist and debris.

Arranging Flowers with Scotch Magic Tape

Make sure your vases work harder with Scotch Magic Tape. Using strips of the same length, make an evenly spaced grid across the top of a vase (although the one in the photo is square, a round vase will work just as well).

Then, simply stick your flowers in the empty squares between the tape. This will ensure your arrangement will stand up straight without having to crowd flowers together or loading it with filler.

That controversial holiday is right around the corner. For me, it's Singles' Awareness Day. For others, it's day of engagements, anniversaries, and sweet celebrations of love. I'm talking about Valentine’s Day. Whether you will be receiving roses from your significant other on February 14th or not, we have some festive red (and pink) office products to replace that vase of roses on your desk. You can also check out special Valentines with a Twist on our Pinterest page:

By now you’ve seen all the pink products…well here’s a Twisty spin on office supplies in light of breast cancer awareness. If you purchase any of these “pink” products, manufacturers donate a percentage of the profits to Breast Cancer Research.

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States (other than skin cancer). But the most important thing to remember this month is to take preventive measures and have steps to have a plan to detect the disease in its early stages and encourage others to do the same.

﻿﻿Being and Office Supply Addict (OSA) is not a bad thing. I mean, it could be worse! And the first step is admitting, right?! Here atTwist Office Productswe realize there’s a difference between knowing office supplies and being totally addicted to them. Our staff gets the itch to collect Post-Its and pencils in every color. And envelopes...and note cards...If this sounds like you, read on to see if you may be an OSA.

Forget coffee in the morning! OSAs love the smell of new markers.

Pen pals aren't who you write letters to...they're your pens.

You proudly wear ink smudges on your hands or clothing like they’re an accessory.

You could wallpaper your entire home with Post-It Notes...and have plenty left for the neighbor's house.

Post-It holders make great gifts for the football fanatic in your life.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…football season! People across the country are glued to their computer screens ensuring good Fantasy team picks. Diehard fans paint their faces and gather in stadiums. Sundays are days of rest and ESPN; friends and family gather together. Unless you’re a Chicago-based Lions fan like me, and have a divided household. To quote one of my good friends, “It’s like God knows we’re sad summer is ending, so he gave us football season.” In celebration of its glorious return, Twist has some super fun supplies, like Swingline® staplers, Quartet® whiteboards, AT-A-GLANCE® planners and more from top office product brands to spruce up your desk. I mean, your mind is in the game already, so why not glance over to your team themed Post-It note holder and daydream about a SuperBowl win?

New for this season are NFL staplers featuring your favorite team’s colors, name and logo. Plus, get a free NFL Shop gift card with qualifying purchases. Check out our legendary office products and start saving now! (*Certain restrictions apply. Valid only while supplies last. Click on the banner above for a list of qualifying products.)